Beware:The Hunter-Gatherer

The primitive culture of Sales Reps “eating what they kill” prevents the creation of systems to sustain growth.

Stuck Deals in the Pipeline!

Stuck deals are red flags for where Marketing should be used to help Sales Reps move deals forward.

Sales Reps: Jack of All Trades, Master of None?

Even if Sales Reps CAN do it all, should they? Net effect: A busier, but less efficient Sales Team.

What’s it about?

While there are certainly more than 5 management Blunders that unintentionally (or intentionally) cause sales impotence, these are the Top 5 Blunders I’ve witnessed over the past 30 years—and God forbid—committed myself.

But I don’t want you to think I’m some pundit sitting over in the bleachers, criticizing from afar. If it’s one thing we don’t need more of in this crazy world is more critics! Rather, my observations come from being an active, street-level participant in the revenue generation process.

And that goes for my recommendations for fixing these Top 5 Blunders. Let’s face it—we don’t need another speech, more pert charts, another “new” attempt at integrating SalesForce.com or the wholesale slaughter of our distribution channels.

What I’m recommending is a return of inspirational leadership, delineation of duties and systematic marketing support for the sales team.So, let’s get back to the basics, folks. Let’s start solving our customer’s problems and aligning our sales and marketing efforts around this one simple objective.

Read my manifesto and then let me know what you think. I’m interested.

31 Comments → “What’s it about?”

I really enjoyed this e-book. The content was original, presented in a very compelling way and your advice can be easily implemented in any sales or marketing organization.

Blunder 1.. Allowing Reps to Make Decisions on Marketing Spend- really resonated with me. I have seen this happen in several different organizations and investments were made in the wrong areas…Your advice is right on target.

This is a must read for any sales manager or business owner who has a staff of sales people that need to be more productive. These blunders are real and are very common in the marketplace. Fix these and you’ll be miles ahead of your competition.

I love your new ebook! It’s rich with meaty, substantive ideas…addresses real-life pains…and makes precise suggestions for improvement. The writing is snappy and packed with supporting statistics. The design, clean and clever. A winner!

You hit the nail on the head with the insights you share in your ebook.

One problem associated with today’s complex sale is that sales professionals are often pulled in too many different directions. Expecting them to “do it all” is a sure recipe for failure.

It’s a waste of their time (not to mention the company’s money) to be finding and qualifying prospects on their own or re-creating marketing material.

They should be laser-focused on consulting with prospects, guiding them through the complex decision-making process, and ultimately developing opportunities with those companies most likely to become customers.

Your introductory video is very good, btw. Wish more of my clients used tools like this…great way to add a human element to any website, and especially for (oftentimes) dull, boring B2B industrial products. Nice job!

fox.

Michael

Great book! Very insightful recommendations – you brought attention to areas which seem to be straightforward but are often overlooked. I know first hand!

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About the Author

Endorsed by Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki, Al Ries and Doug Hall, the Playbook—now a training resource site for B2B Marketers—draws upon John’s 30-year career as a street-smart business developer and provides detailed instructions for implementing more than 100 sales-driven marketing strategies for small businesses.

John is also president of Venture Marketing, a management consulting firm that produces top-line revenue growth for its clients through systematic marketing programs.

He holds a BS Engineering-Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. He and his wife, Ruth, live in Naperville, Illinois with their five entrepreneurially-minded children.